4 ms·

States have the ability to sue to block mergers as well as the federal government. See the recent 11 state lawsuit seeking to block the WarnerMount merger.

xp84 3mo ago
Just a couple of months ago, someone was still suing[1] to block Alaska Air/Hawaiian. This is a merger that already entirely went through. I would predict equal likelihood of some state lawsuit derailing a merger like this. [1] https://viewfromthewing.com/passengers-demand-court-undo-alaskas-hawaiian-airlines-merger-say-deal-hurts-competition-raises-prices/ https://viewfromthewing.com/passengers-demand-court-undo-ala...
- delecti 3mo ago
  There's a pretty clear difference between a lawsuit by 8 individuals, vs one filed by attorneys general representing a combined ~100m people.
  - deleted 3mo ago
    [deleted]
  - xp84 3mo ago
    Nevertheless, I have very little faith in states somehow blocking big mergers. Can you cite an example where this has happened? We've had basically every airline, several supermarket chains, and every major media company go through 1-2 rounds of megamergers. Which, specifically, have been successfully blocked by states?
    - yerich 3mo ago
      In 2017, Valero tried to acquire some energy infrastructure owned by Plains All American. The FTC cleared it but California's AG filed to block the deal, which was ultimately abandoned before the trial could begin. https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2017/10/future-impacts-of-valeros-decision-to-abandon-mart https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2017/10/futur...
    - ralph84 3mo ago
      Washington state was key to blocking Kroger-Albertsons.
    - deleted 3mo ago
      [deleted]
- bluedevil2k 3mo ago
  Considering that California is one of the states and it’s Warner Brothers and Paramount, both entertainment companies based in California, the bark has a lot of bite.
Forgeties79 3mo ago
If it isn’t red states the current admin won’t care at all. If it’s mostly or entirely blue states, they’ll just default to siding with the merger out of spite.
lotsofpulp 3mo ago
Which is funny because regardless of whether or not those states succeed in blocking the merger, those legacy video entertainment businesses will become irrelevant whether they are one business or two, due to the fierce competition from TikTok/Instagram/Reddit/Youtube/Whatsapp/computers/anything on the internet in general. It's probably the most inconsequential merger, from a consumer standpoint.
- jkestner 3mo ago
  Anything can be a monopoly or not, depending on how you define the market.
  - lotsofpulp 3mo ago
    But not anything is worth litigating. The kids with a lemonade stand on the corner in my neighborhood have a monopoly on that corner. Video media sellers are dime a dozen these days, and the barrier to entry for selling video media is basically none. Warner brothers and paramount are nowhere near the only business to buy and watch media, and it affects almost no buyers negatively if they merge.
PunchyHamster 3mo ago
Sure they have ability, they are just not doing it often enough

xp84 3mo ago

Just a couple of months ago, someone was still suing[1] to block Alaska Air/Hawaiian. This is a merger that already entirely went through. I would predict equal likelihood of some state lawsuit derailing a merger like this. [1] https://viewfromthewing.com/passengers-demand-court-undo-alaskas-hawaiian-airlines-merger-say-deal-hurts-competition-raises-prices/ https://viewfromthewing.com/passengers-demand-court-undo-ala...

delecti 3mo ago
There's a pretty clear difference between a lawsuit by 8 individuals, vs one filed by attorneys general representing a combined ~100m people.
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]
- xp84 3mo ago
  Nevertheless, I have very little faith in states somehow blocking big mergers. Can you cite an example where this has happened? We've had basically every airline, several supermarket chains, and every major media company go through 1-2 rounds of megamergers. Which, specifically, have been successfully blocked by states?
  - yerich 3mo ago
    In 2017, Valero tried to acquire some energy infrastructure owned by Plains All American. The FTC cleared it but California's AG filed to block the deal, which was ultimately abandoned before the trial could begin. https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2017/10/future-impacts-of-valeros-decision-to-abandon-mart https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2017/10/futur...
  - ralph84 3mo ago
    Washington state was key to blocking Kroger-Albertsons.
  - deleted 3mo ago
    [deleted]
bluedevil2k 3mo ago
Considering that California is one of the states and it’s Warner Brothers and Paramount, both entertainment companies based in California, the bark has a lot of bite.

Forgeties79 3mo ago

If it isn’t red states the current admin won’t care at all. If it’s mostly or entirely blue states, they’ll just default to siding with the merger out of spite.

lotsofpulp 3mo ago

Which is funny because regardless of whether or not those states succeed in blocking the merger, those legacy video entertainment businesses will become irrelevant whether they are one business or two, due to the fierce competition from TikTok/Instagram/Reddit/Youtube/Whatsapp/computers/anything on the internet in general. It's probably the most inconsequential merger, from a consumer standpoint.

jkestner 3mo ago
Anything can be a monopoly or not, depending on how you define the market.
- lotsofpulp 3mo ago
  But not anything is worth litigating. The kids with a lemonade stand on the corner in my neighborhood have a monopoly on that corner. Video media sellers are dime a dozen these days, and the barrier to entry for selling video media is basically none. Warner brothers and paramount are nowhere near the only business to buy and watch media, and it affects almost no buyers negatively if they merge.

PunchyHamster 3mo ago

Sure they have ability, they are just not doing it often enough